Rather than this being a trite and overly simplistic topic, it was Dr. Karl Barth, a prolific writer who wrote volumes on the meaning of life and faith and who was considered by many scholars to be one of the most brilliant theologians of the 20th Century, when he was lecturing at Princeton Theological Seminary was asked by a student what was the greatest truth he had ever learned. Dr. Barth thought for a moment and then said: “The greatest truth that I have ever learned was at my mother’s knee, ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’"
There is no doubt that “Jesus Loves Me” is one of the best known children’s songs in the world. But how could it be that such a renowned biblical scholar would say that the “greatest truth” that he had ever learned was the fact that Jesus loved him?
I can think of four reasons that I think can lead us to question or even doubt that God loves us and this because I struggle with each of these.
1. Lack of godly examples
2. Our inadequacies
3. Our sin
4. Our circumstances
It seems that when we do not have a loving earthly father we struggle with many of the concepts of a loving heavenly Father. If we have struggled to please our earthly father then we will have a tendency to be “works” minded when it comes to God. When this happens we feel condemned by our failures and deserving when we seem to have performed well. The concept of a god that loves us “unconditionally” and not based upon anything that we have done “does not compute” if our parents did not show us unconditional love.
Often times we believe that we are more loveable when we are sucessful or do a good job at something. But whether we want to admit it or not, we all have short-comings and inadequacies. These short-comings often humble us allow an area in our lives where God can reveal our need for Him. If these inadequacies are what God used to draw us to Himself we often question why they remain after we have surrendered our lives to Him. It is often even more difficult if these areas of weakness lead to sin and its consequences.
Sin still brings about death and separation in spite of Satan’s lie to Eve. We can feel the separation and loss if our hearts have not been hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. This is good because it causes us to feel “godly sorrow that leads to repentance” or change in our lives. But often Satan wants to keep us hiding from God by way of feelings of condemnation and unworthiness. If we have a propensity toward a particular sin in our lives we can question, “How can God love me when I keep failing Him over and over?”
Whether brought about by the consequences of sin in our lives or as a result of someone else’s sin, or even situations in which we can find no one to blame often our circumstances cause us to question God’s love for us. How many times have you heard something similar to this statement, “How can a loving God allow this to happen to me or someone I love?” We equate love as being free from difficult or hurtful situations. Someone who loves me most certainly not allow something hurtful or difficult in my life.
My wife recently brought our daughter in to receive her immunization shots. For a full day afterward my daughter who is now 4 months old was very upset! She would not lay down in her crib but cried and cried until she was held. My wife and I took turns throughout the night holding her as we slept. I am sure she questioned in her little mind how could mommy and daddy take me to someone who hurt me and gave me a bit of a fever? It was beyond her comprehension to understand that our motivation for doing so was really out of love and our desire for her to continue to be with us.
So if all these things cannot be trusted to reveal God’s love for us what witnesses has God left us as a proof of His love?
There are three eternal witnesses that I can think of:
1. His Word
2. Jesus’ death and resurrection
3. His Spirit
The children’s song, “Jesus Loves Me” tells us we know it because the “Bible tells me so.” So I think that it is appropriate for us to look at what the Bible mentions about the four reasons we question His love for us.
A Lack of Godly Examples
The Bible asks this question, “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne?” And then gives the following response, “Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands (Isa. 49:15-16). God tells us that in most situations a mother will love and have compassion for her children. In another place the Bible states this as natural affection. Yet in the absence of a loving mother, God declares, “I will not forget you!” The scars left by the nails from the cross serve as an everlasting reminder of His love. Every time He sees those scars He remembers you. In the Psalms He tells us, “Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me” (Ps. 27:10).
The Bible declares, “God is love” and He is unchanging in His nature (c.f. 1Jn. 4:8,16; James 1:17). He wants us to understand that He is the example given to the world including our parents, spouses, friends, and children, not the other way around. That is why the Bible further tells us, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us …” (Eph. 5:1-2).
Our Inadequacies
The majority of times when we struggle with inadequacy, it is because we are comparing ourselves to others. If everyone had the same weakness we would consider it normal and therefore have no recognition of any insufficiency on our part. The Bible teaches that it is unwise to compare ourselves with others (2 Cor. 10:12). Further the Bible teaches that it is God who made us to differ from one another (c.f. 1 Cor. 4:7) and that in the church – the body of Christ – He has placed us right where He wanted us to be (c.f. 1 Cor. 12:18-22).
For those weaknesses that are contrary to God’s will, the Bible teaches that both the Spirit and the Son intercede for us on behalf of them (c.f. Rom 8:26, 34). So the fact is that God is aware of the way in which He created us with both our strengths and weaknesses and in all these things He accepts us in Christ and intercedes for our welfare according to the mind of God.
Our Sin
In regard to our sin, God tells us that sin brings about both separation and death (c.f. Isa. 59:2; Rom. 6:23). But herein lies the beautiful truth of the Gospel that God showed His love for us while we were still in sin and did not withhold that love from us because of our sin. Here is how it is stated, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Rom. 5:6-8).
God tells us that He demonstrated His kind of love which is very different than the kind of love that we normally experience in this world. Christ died on our behalf in spite of our sin and rejection of Him. This tells me two things, first of all that His love is available to everyone. “For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Cor. 5:14). You see how this is stated? The presupposition is that Christ died for all therefore the assumption can be made that all were dead. Since we know that in fact all have sinned and are spiritually dead (Rom. 3:23 Eccl. 7:20) we can be certain that Jesus died on your behalf – all our behalf. It is “because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved” (Eph 2:4-5).
Further the Bible teaches that this grace of God is appropriated by faith not by works we have done (Rom. 5:2; Eph. 2:8-9). Unlike some have been known to teach faith is not a work. Here is how the Bible says it: “Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt. But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Rom. 4:4-5).
Our Circumstances
Perhaps the most difficult times that we find ourselves struggling with the fact that Jesus loves us is when our circumstances don’t seem to feel like they are orchestrated by someone who really loves us. How often have you heard someone say, “If God really loved me then why did He allow this to happen to me?” I have seen this be the point at which many felt it was easier to believe there is no God and walk away from Him rather than asking the question, why?
In reality, there is more than one thing at play in our circumstances. First of all, it is God who gives you a life in the first place. This gift of life has been poisoned by sin, both ours and that of others. Because of that, this world is not our home or our hope. We should never be mistaken by the fact that “If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men (1 Cor. 15:19).
Since in this life our faith in Christ is what reconciles us to God, we should expect that faith to be tested. Not so that we would possibly fail, but God controls each test and temptation to what level we gain overcome with His strength (c.f. 1 Cor. 10:13).
In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith — of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire — may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed (1 Peter 1:6-7). The purpose of these trials is to prove that our faith is genuine and real.
Finally, Rom 8:28 affirms, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” Because God is holy, just and faithful and cannot lie we know that He is attempted to turn every difficult situation in life to something that has an eternal good. We may never understand what He is doing or why He has allowed us to face what we are going through but we also know that He is right there with us in the trial. He has said, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. So you can boldly say, ‘God is my helper…’”
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us (Rom 8:35, 37).
We Must Follow the Promises
Rather than having a relationship that is based upon our performance or lack thereof, we need to have a relationship with God that is based upon faith in His promises. We know He loves us based upon the information that has been given to us, but each one of us must personally take hold of that promise of love and believe that He does love us not based upon anything that we have done but because He is love.
We have known and believed the love that God has for us (1 John 4:16).
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